Crystallized
by MiniatureDreams
Summary: Now 14 years old, Chibiusa "Usa" Tsukino is enjoying a peaceful life as princess of Crystal Tokyo with the Asteroid Senshi. But new foes, changing relationships, and mysterious possible allies prove to make everything complicated... Can Usa and the Sailor Team defeat Queen Fantasma and the Shade Clan? And why is childhood friend Yuki so... different all of a sudden?
1. A New Term Surprise?

__**A/N: So, yes, another next-gen Senshi fic... this is actually a rehash of a very old fic of mine by the same name, with improved plot points, consistency, developed characters, etc. I promise you, there's a few interesting twists to this. I'm going through a creative block with my current work right now, so this is basically a project I'll be writing to fix that. Here goes nothing. Please enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation do. However, I do have claims to my OCs and plot.

* * *

_She was horrified. This was… her home? The place she had grown up in? Where she had laughed, and had fun? It was barely Crystal Tokyo anymore- it was a __wasteland._

_There was no sound and no movement. The sky was swirling with coal black clouds. It was dark. It was cold. The thing that scared her most was that she still recognized it all. From the rubble, she could still pick out the palace… her school… the arcade... the ice cream shop… all the places she loved._

_How could it have been so frail? So temporary? It was like everything was already crumbling away from her… like even her memories were fleeting. Why couldn't everything have lasted? Why couldn't __she __have lasted?_

_She had thought it would last forever._

No, _she told herself. _It's not going to happen. Usa, you still have the Crystal. You can still fight.

_She looked up at her enemy, rage in her eyes, her face damp with tears she barely remembered crying. "I won't let you have it!"_

"_What, do you think there's still hope_?" _The woman cackled. "My generals have killed all of your friends. You're useless without them, aren't you? You don't even have power anymore. Face it, Princess," She spat out. "This world's going to be destroyed."_

_The girl gritted her teeth. "I__** have**_ _power." _

"_Oh, really? Would you like to demonstrate?" Her enemy smirked._

"_I still have the Rose Crystal!" She shouted. "And I __**will **__use it against you!"_

_The woman's icy stare turned into fear… but quickly returned._

"_Yes, but will you use it against him?"_

_A figure stepped out of the darkness._

"_It can't be…"_

"Usa! Wake up!"

"…Usa?"

"Small Lady Usagi Serenity Tsukino-Chiba! Wake up so that I don't have to repeat that again!"

"You're late!"

"…Breakfast's cold!"

Instantly, the young princess sat up. "No way!"

From in the doorway, Diana sighed. "That's _all _that woke you up, huh? You're ten minutes late." She ran a nervous hand through her silver hair. "And I'm running late too, I have to-"

"Ten minutes!" Usa yelped, a shocked look on her face. "I'm going to be so late!" She sprung out of bed, immediately grabbing her hair ties and attempting to tame down her unruly pink hair into her classic rabbit-ear buns.

"You know it's the first day of the new semester, right?" The cat-girl sighed. "Great day for us both to be late… Especially with everything else that's happening."

"What?" Usa ran towards her. "What else is happening?"

Diana stifled a giggle, her cat ears and tail popping out in the way they always did when she was excited. "A whole lot, Chibiusa… you'll have to wait and see."

"Di-a-_na_! I don't wanna wait!" She complained, finishing her hair and grabbing her uniform out of her closet. "And don't call me that, I'm not _chibi! _I'm taller than you!

Diana was already walking down the hallway, but yelled back: "I'm still a year older, though!"

Usa sighed, putting on her uniform. Giving herself a once-over in the mirror, she immediately grabbed her bag and bounded out of her room, an excited grin adorning her face.

_I'm Crown Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity Tsukino-Chiba… that's such a mouthful! All my friends just call me Usa. I'm fourteen years old, and in eighth grade. I love sweet food and video games. I'm also a bit of a crybaby and a bit- okay, a whole lot- of a klutz. But beneath that, just like my mama, I have the power to save the world…_

Usa ran down the stairs… well, ran half of them, then tripped and rolled down the rest.

"Ow…" She rubbed her head.

Suddenly, Usa heard footsteps running towards her. "Usa! There you are!"

"Hi, Sakura! Um… help me up?"

Her friend laughed in response, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. "Ready for the first day of term two?"

"You know it!" She grinned widely, linking arms with the other girl. The two were longtime friends: with Sakura being Minako's daughter, Princess of Venus and Sailor Ceres, the two had known each other since they were children. Usa wasn't as close to the other Asteroid Senshi: Seiko and Rin (Sailors Vesta and Juno) weren't from royal families, and Usa therefore didn't see them as much. Umi- Sailor Pallas- was the Mercurian Princess, but the two had rarely talked outside of royal or Senshi duties.

Sakura, though, was very close to her. She had inherited her father's adventurous nature and her mother's cheerful (and occasionally over-the-top) demeanor, and the two got along almost flawlessly.

"What electives do you have again?" Usa questioned her as they walked out of the palace.

Sakura twirled around excitedly with a sing-song reply. "Music, of course! Oh, and_ français."_

Usa blinked. "Fran-what?"

"_French, _Usa! The language of love!" Sakura struck a pose.. "You're taking a language too, right?"

"Yeah, English."

"But you've studied English for so long already!"

Usa shrugged. "Papa thought it would be good for me to take more lessons. For my diplo-whatever skills."

"Diplo-whatever?"

"You know, whatever they call them!"

"Diplomatic," Sakura laughed, combing her fingers through her long pink locks. Suddenly, though, she had an alarmed look on her face as she caught a glimpse of her watch. "Usa! Why didn't you tell me we were so _late?"_

"I… forgot!"

"How can you _forget _to tell me that we're nearly a quarter hour late?" She admonished with a sigh. "Come on, we better run- at least I know a shortcut!"

"Wait- you-_ Hey_!" Usa shouted as Sakura instantly grabbed her hand, leading her down an alleyway.

She soon slipped out of Sakura's grip, choosing to trail behind her and hope she wouldn't lose track of all her friend's twists and turns. She was being led on a wild chase, through roads and alleyways and paths she didn't even know existed.

"What are you _doing? _ Where are we even going?"

"To school, obviously." Sakura smirked. "See… here we are!"

Usa stepped out of the passageway that Sakura had led her to and blinked in shock. There they were, standing in the school courtyard. It was still buzzing with the chatter and mayhem of students; obviously, the bell hadn't rung yet.

"We're… early?" Usa gaped. She turned to her friend, surprised and thrilled. "That was _awesome!" _

"What can I say?" She shrugged, adjusting the ribbon of her uniform top and smirking at her friend. "I know this town like the back of my hand."

Usa smiled happily. "Come on, let's go talk to some people!" She skipped over to where several girls were gathered; Sakura followed.

Though Usa was never one for academics, she _loved _school. She adored seeing all of her friends. Almost the entire school knew her- not as the Princess, but as the klutzy, not-so-bright, but sweet and caring Usa. This was her first year at public school, and she had begged her parents and the royal court to let her attend. At first, everyone had been wary of her, but they soon warmed up to her. She was quite popular, not because of royalty but simply because she attempted to befriend anyone and everyone who crossed her path. Even though she'd begrudgingly get up every morning, begging not to leave her bed, she couldn't help but be happy.

"Hey! Usa-chan!" The pink-haired girl turned around as someone called to her.

"Mitsuki-chan! Chiyo-chan!" She smiled; the twin brunettes were old acquaintances of hers.

Usa walked over to the two; Sakura had branched off to talk to some of her Choir Club friends. "What's up?" She said.

"Did you hear about the new transfers?" Chiyo asked her.

Usa shook her head.

"Apparently a bunch of them are coming in for the new semester!" Mitsuki said excitedly.

"Oh, really?" She looked interested.

"Yeah, it's just a rumor… but new people are always interesting, right?" Chiyo replied.

"Right!" She smiled.

The bell rang, and immediately students began to walk into the building. Usa lingered a bit, wanting as usual to keep talking to her friends-

-when suddenly, she saw the oddest flicker of light out of the corner of her eye. She blinked, then squinted. _What is that over there? It looks like… a cat or something?_

Usa couldn't help but walk over to check it out; curiosity had gotten the better of her. She approached the cat cautiously. "H-hello?"

The cat mewled loudly, and Usa bent down to look at it. The cat had short, velvety-soft lavender fur, and was shockingly similar-looking to the guardian cats… right down to the crescent moon on its forehead. It looked around nervously, its tail flicking in distress.

"Come 'ere! It's okay, kitty-chan…" The kitten seemed to relax a bit, moving closer to Usa.

Suddenly, there was a spark of bright purple light. Usa brought her hand up to her face, shielding her eyes. When the light faded, though, Usa blinked in shock: the cat had disappeared, and a girl was in its place.

_It… it was a Mauian after all!_

The cat-turned-girl looked alarmed, quickly scooting away from Usa. Her cat ears and tail were still out, much like Diana's were when she was excited or nervous. She curled up in a ball, her long plum-colored waves messily falling into her eyes. "Whatdoyouwantdon'thurtme!" She yowled.

"Relax! I'm not going to hurt you!" Usa said.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Usa! I'm the Princess!" She waved.

"You're… the Princess? As in, Crown Princess Small Lady-"

"Usagi Serenity Tsukino-Chiba." She finished. "Yep, that's me!"

The girl seemed to relax a bit, sitting up. Only then did Usa get a better look at her: she looked to be a couple years older than Usa. Her amber brown eyes looked panicked, but seemed to be slowly relaxing. "I… I'm Losna."

"Nice to meet you, Losna-chan!" Usa instantly reached out a hand to her; Losna smiled a bit and shook it.

"So, um… where am I?" She asked.

Usa furrowed her eyebrows, and then laughed. "Crystal Tokyo, of course! We're right by my school, Azabu Pearl Junior High!"

"I'm in… Crystal Tokyo?" She looked around disorientedly. "I'm _on Earth?_"

Usa's smile faded. "You… weren't before?"

"I've been on Mau my entire life doing guardian training!" Losna yelled. "I've never once been here… unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Well… I just turned sixteen, meaning I finished my training… and I was going to get my placement really soon. I didn't think it would be anything important… only the best cats get sent to Earth, after all. And I, well… failedallofmyclassesexceptforcombat."

"What was that?"

Losna blushed. "I failed all of my classes except for combat…"

"Cool! That's the kind of thing I do!" Usa said.

Losna relaxed a bit, with a tiny laugh and a sigh. "But because of that, I figured I'd just get sent to one of the lesser planets to be part of the guard… if I was lucky, it would be in this galaxy, but I probably would have gotten a position on a much smaller planet in another solar system. But if I got sent here all of a sudden…"

Usa smiled widely. "You could be one of our guardian cats!"

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions… I bet it's just some mistake …" But the cat-girl was quickly cut off by one of Usa's crushing embraces- Sakura had nicknamed it the Patented Usa Death Hug of Death.

"This is going to be so awesome, Losna-chan! I can't wait to show you around and let you meet everyone and- oh, this is just so _great_!" Usa yelled excitedly.

Losna laughed; she could already tell that this was the kind of girl whose enthusiasm spread to everyone around her. "I suppose you have to get to school then?"

Usa froze. "Shoot… I'm late… Bye Losna! See you later!" She ran off.

Losna sighed. "Now, as to find my way to that palace…"

…

Usa leaned her head on her notebook, making a pouting face. She was facing a familiar foe: lunch detention. She had been tardy without a pass, so she was stuck eating lunch in the library. There was no talking; if someone made even the quietest of noises, they were sure to get the evil eye from the all-too-strict librarian.

Usa sighed: she was just so _bored._ She hated not being able to talk to anyone! She had already scarfed down her lunch and begrudgingly finished any homework she had gotten, and she had nothing to do. Sakura never got lunch detention- that was more her brother's game.

Ringo was definitely the mischievous type- always pulling pranks or doing something to get him into trouble. The thing about him, though, was that he was never mean-spirited. Everything he did was out of fun; he just wanted to get a laugh or smile out of someone. In fact, many of his pranks itself were kind-hearted in nature: for example, on Valentine's Day a celebratory sign and box of candies was found taped on every locker of school last year. It was anonymous by name... But clearly Ringo's in nature. The administration, though, didn't seem to agree about his motives. More often than not, he'd end up right besides Usa.

She sighed: detention with Ringo was always entertaining. He'd always pass secret notes to her under the table, or start staring contests with her and try to make her laugh without a word. Ringo had left to visit his fellow princes, Yuki of Mercury and Haku of Jupiter, the day before. Usa didn't remember the exact circumstances, something about visiting the zodiac constellations and meeting royals, yadda yadda yadda. She always disliked those kinds of trips, and she knew Ringo would feel the same- at least he had the other princes to accompany him.

Usa didn't actually know the other two princes that well: supposedly, the two were a year older than her, and both very smart. Haku she had briefly talked to at the last royal court meeting she had been required to attend: he seemed nice enough, but it was like she was only talking to a third of him. The second part was lost, out in some dreamland who-knows-where; but the third was _clearly_ absorbed in a huge classic book. And Yuki...

_Yuki._

The two had played together almost constantly when they were kids: as soon as the then-Chibiusa became a Sailor Senshi, he seemed to drift away from her. He was always mysterious, though... always the type to wonder about. Usa hadn't seen him in two years, since her twelfth birthday. Every once in a while her thoughts traveled to him: his choppy layers of snow-white hair, his joyous laugh and smug smirk. She couldn't help but wonder if he had changed in their years apart.

Usa sighed: why did she keep thinking of the past? Yuki was invading her mind much more often than usual lately.

"Hey!" She heard a whisper, sweet and excited. "Seat taken?"

She looked up; startled, she blinked at the girl before her. "Umi-chan?"

The blue-haired girl waved with a smile, taking a seat across from her.

"Well? Surprised to see me, Usa?" Umi replied.

"Yeah, but _shush_! This is lunch detention, I can't talk to you!"

"Oh, come on, librarians love me. They wouldn't _dare_ get the princess of Mercury in trouble." She giggled.

"How come you're here, though? Don't you go to that fancy boarding school on Mercury or something?"

"I _did."_ She gestured to her uniform- it looked exactly like Usa's, only with the addition of a school cardigan. "Mama and Papa said it would be better for me to go to school here in Crystal Tokyo!"

Usa's face lit up. "That's so _awesome! _I can't believe you _finally _transferred here!" _So that's what Chiyo and Mitsuki were talking about…_

"I know, I've been _begging _them to let me come here! Mercury is so _boring. _Well, actually, it's pretty cool, with all of the technology and stuff. Plus, I miss my weather regulators. Did you know on Mercury you get to wear these awesome ear things that can change the weather around you? So, like, you can be in the rain in your own little bubble, and it's snowing for the person besides you! It's so COOL! So now I'm, like, freezing cold because I'm used to my weather regulator always making it nice and warm and toasty… plus we're right by the sun. But otherwise Mercury's really dull. I like it here! Apparently this was, like, a mutual thing and all, though."

Usa was so lost in Umi's motor-mouth talking that she barely registered her last sentence- but she did eventually take it into her mind. "Wait… what do you mean by mutual?"

"I'll show you!" She exclaimed, standing up and grabbing Usa's arm.

"Wait, no- _Umi-chan! _I can't leave lunch detention, or I'll get into even more trouble!" Usa protested.

Umi shrugged. "Librarian-sensei! I need to go show Usa something, we'll be back in a few minutes!" She said to the librarian, who simply nodded without even taking her eyes off of her book.

_I'm having a real big sense of déjà vu… _Usa thought to herself as she was dragged down the hallway. Umi had a grip like solid stone on her forearm as she led her up and down the hallways and staircases to… whatever their destination was.

"Trust me, Usa, you're going to _love _this!" Umi chirped.

"Yeah, but what _is _it?"

Umi just giggled.

…

"Where _is _she?" One certain Himura Seiko sighed, tapping her feet against the ground impatiently as she leaned against the wall. "She said she'd be back in ten minutes!"

"Calm down. It's been nine." The girl next to her- Kobayashi Rin, to be exact- stated, barely looking up from the book she was reading.

"Here we are!" Umi turned the corner, pulling Usa with her and stopping right by the two.

"Umi, _finally- _Usa-chan?"

"Seiko-chan? Rin-chan?" A look of surprise appeared on Usa's face. "You _transferred here?"_

"Indeed we did," Seiko smirked. "Although I am in no way excited about wearing these uniforms." She pawed the sailor collar of her school uniform, making a face.

"We're finally going to school together, and you care more about the _uniforms?" _Usa burst out laughing in shock. "You sound like Sakura!"

"Well, I guess she's right about one thing!" She replied.

"They aren't that bad," Rin shrugged.

"Yeah! Once we get to high school we can wear what we want, too!" Umi said.

"I know, I know…" Seiko sighed. "I still wish I could wear my dresses and stuff. But I suppose it's worth it, being with all of you- _Usa! Get off me! I… can't… breathe!"_

"Sorry, sorry," Usa laughed, releasing the girl from the Patented Usa Death Hug of Death she was locked in. "I'm just… so happy to see you all." It was like waves of happiness were bursting from the pink-haired princess- her joy could barely be contained in her wildest of smiles. Sure, she wasn't exactly the closest to Umi, Seiko, and Rin… but she had _always, always _longed for the relationship to her Asteroid Senshi that her mother had with her Guardians. Going to the same school was just the first step. Excitement coursed through her veins; this could just mean so much!

A sudden realization came to her: "So this is what Diana was talking about! First Losna, now this! This is _awesome!"_

"Losna?" Rin brushed a lock of her messy green hair out of her face and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh… yeah! I have to go explain everything to you! And Sakura too! Hang on a second…" She glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway; it was four minutes until lunch would end. "How about we all go hang out at Tiara Ice Cream Parlor and catch up this afternoon?"

"As long as you're buying!" Umi replied.

"Where's Sakura?" Rin turned to Usa. "I have to be the one to tell her we're back. At least, I have to see her reaction."

"She should be in the cafeteria! You guys can go track her down, I have… somewhere to be."

Seiko and Rin glanced at each other. "Lunch detention?"

"It was just because I was late without a pass! This time, at least!" She indignantly responded. The other girls simply laughed as they made plans and parted ways, anticipating the moment they would meet again.

…

"Awesome! A new guardian cat!" Umi smiled, taking a big bite of her ice cream sundae.

"That's what we're hoping," Losna sighed. The group had met up at the ice cream parlor almost instantly after school ended; even so, Seiko, Sakura and Rin had already changed out of their school uniforms (with Rin, of course, making the excuse that she felt "out of her element" without her leather jacket) and Umi had already found a way to complete all of her homework.

"It has to be!" Usa piped up. "Diana told me this morning that a lot was happening today. You guys transferring's just the beginning!"

"You have to wonder, though… why now?" The girls turned to Rin. "I mean, we could have transferred over here at any time. Why didn't we come when we first got our powers? Or when we went back in time to fight against Galaxia?"

"That's a good point." Seiko remarked, looking out the window. "It's not even the start of a school year; it's just so random that all three of us are here now."

Usa thought a moment, but then shrugged. "I don't think we should worry about it! I'm just so happy to have you guys with me," she grinned.

"We're happy to be here," Rin smirked.

"I know!" Sakura replied. "This is going to be so awesome! We can, like, go on adventures and stuff-"

Suddenly, there was a crash from outside the shop- the noise, loud as a gunshot, instantly alerted the girls.

"What the-" Losna blinked. "Girls, you better check that out!" The other five nodded, heading to a secluded area to transform.

Losna let out a sigh, staring down into her drink. "I just hope it's not what I think it is..."

"Pallas Power, Make-Up!"

"Juno Power, Make-Up!"

"Vesta Power, Make-Up!"

"Ceres Power, Make-Up!"

"Moon Crisis, Make-Up!"

With that, the five Senshi dashed out of the alleyway they had hidden in. Sailor Chibi Moon's eyes widened as she saw the sight- the wolflike mass of shaggy hair with beady, jaundiced eyes greeting them was undoubtedly a youma.

"_Kitsu!" _It roared, sending a mouthful of blue flames at the girls. Sailor Juno and Sailor Ceres dodged it quickly, while Sailor Chibi Moon, Sailor Pallas, and Sailor Vesta sprinted away yet continued to be chased for a moment.

"Juno, quick! Let's distract it!" Sailor Ceres remarked. Gritting her teeth, Sailor Juno nodded.

"Ceres Rose Flash!"

"Juno Agile Shock!"

The lightning beam and wave of flowers hit the monster, causing it to growl in pain and stop its fire. Sailor Pallas grinned, touching her earring to pull up the visor of the Mercury Computer (an item she had inherited from Queen Ami.) "I found its weak point! It's on its tail!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sailor Vesta replied, brushing the char off her skirt.

"Pallas Spiral Mist!"

"Vesta Beastly Flare!"

"Pink Ladies… Freezing Kiss!" In a flash of magenta light, the monster disappeared.

Sakura smirked as she and the other girls detransformed. "Oh yeah! Nothing gets past us!"

"Don't get too full of yourself," Rin sighed. "We should figure out what that monster was first. There hasn't been an attack in so long… there's something suspicious about it."

"Look! There's something on the ground!" Umi pointed down to the spot the monster once stood: though the monster was defeated, a blood red stone was now embedded in the ground. "I'll go get it!"

"Wait, it could be-"

"Hey, it's kinda pretty!" Umi picked up the rock, holding it to the light.

"Bring it over to us, Umi-san." Losna remarked; she was now in cat form again, perched on Seiko's shoulder.

Seiko turned towards the cat. "When did you get there?"

Losna shrugged. "Your shoulder's comfortable."

Umi walked over to the group and handed the mysterious stone to Usa. The rose-haired girl held it in her hand, letting her fingers wrap around it: it was abnormally smooth, and felt as cold as frost in her palm. She stared down into it: the stone was shiny like a gemstone, but oddly cloudy on the inside. She couldn't help to feel something was off about it… but what?

"Let's get back to the palace," Rin said. "We can take a better look at that with the equipment there."

Losna nodded, hopping back. "I have a feeling we're needed there as soon as possible… I'll lead the way!"

"This is the first time you've ever been here, are you sure you want to do that?"

"Come on, the palace is giant and right in the center of town! How hard can it be finding it?"

Two hours later, the girls were hopelessly lost.


	2. Enemies and Uncertainties

**A/N: Second chapter! This went a bit differently than I thought it would, but I'm proud of how it turned out. **

**A few cultural notes:**

**I'm using the basic conversion of 100 yen = 1 US dollar. So the 200 yen candy bags cost around $2, and the "thousand yen" mentioned later is about $10.**

**Konpeito is a type of sugary Japanese candy. Fun bit of trivia, it's actually what Kakeru gives Luna in the S movie.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"_Let's get back to the palace," Rin said. "We can take a better look at that with the equipment there."_

_Losna nodded, hopping back. "I have a feeling we're needed there as soon as possible… I'll lead the way!" _

"_This is the first time you've ever been here, are you sure you want to do that?"_

"_Come on, the palace is giant and right in the center of town! How hard can it be finding it?"_

_Two hours later, the girls were hopelessly lost._

"For the last time, we're not lost!" Losna let out a sigh. "I'm sure we'll find the palace in no time!"

"I don't even think we're in Crystal Tokyo," Seiko muttered. "It's been hours."

"Technically, it's been two hours, thirty-nine minutes and twenty-two… twenty-_three _seconds!" Umi chirped, looking up from the Mercury Computer.

"That much?" Usa let out a groan, staring up at the sky- dark clouds were starting to circle around, and none of the girls had umbrellas. And the worst thing was that being lost meant she couldn't help but remember _that time… _Her memories had all blurred together, but there were still moments clear in her mind.

"_I can't believe it! Today I get to spend time with my very own Sailor Guardians!" Nine-year-old Usa- still Chibiusa, at that point- spun around her room excitedly as she got dressed._

"_You're training, Chibiusa. There's no time to play around, you know." Diana sighed, sprawling out on the windowsill and pawing at a buzzing fly._

"_Yeah, but there's going to be a picnic too!" She grinned. "And we can eat lunch with Umi and Seiko and Rin and Sakura!"_

_..._

"_Welcome to the Super Awesome __ Training-Picnic Spectacular!" Minako yelled enthusiastically._

_Makoto let out a sigh. "You had to name it?"_

"_Of course! Naming it makes it official!"_

_..._

"_Asteroids, since your powers are still dormant, we will begin with exercises involving stamina and agility." Ami addressed the girls._

"_Small Lady, Usagi... well, Neo-Queen-Serenity will be training you during the afternoon, but you'll be with us for the morning." Rei explained._

"_Your first activity will be an obstacle course in the forest," Makoto continued. "Luna and Artemis have hidden 5 bells in the area marked off. Each of you has to find one of them. You all have your communicators, right?"_

"_Yep!" The girls answered._

"_You have an hour… If you're late, you can't eat at the picnic!" Minako exclaimed… much to the horror of Chibiusa, who instantly paled. "I'm just kidding… don't give me that face…"_

_..._

"_3… 2… 1… GO!"_

_The girls ran into the depths of the forest…_

_..._

"_Umi? Seiko? Rin? Sakura?" Chibiusa looked around nervously. "Where are you?" At first the five had stuck close together, but it had been so long since she had seen any of them... and she was scared. The woods were too dark and ominous to be daylight at that point… but surely she hadn't been in the forest for any more than half an hour, right? It felt like hours, and still there was no sign of the bells or of her friends…_

_Chibiusa turned the corner as she came to a forked path. For a moment, she looked towards both paths; then, she glanced up at a tall tree between them and cracked a smile once she noticed the small golden bell tied onto a branch._

"_Fin…ally!" She panted. After several minutes, she had reached the top of the tree. With a sigh, she sat down in a crook between two branches, looking out over the forest._

_Suddenly, there was a flash in the distance. Slowly, it grew bigger and bigger…_

_..._

"_Small Lady!"_

_Chibiusa's eyes fluttered open as she took in her surroundings. She was on the bed of one of the hospital rooms, surrounded by the queens, her father, and the guardian cats._

"_Thank goodness you're awake." Luna sighed._

"_I think she only fainted from the shock," Queen Ami explained. She was in her lab coat and glasses instead of her fuku at this point, and a couple pieces of equipment were set up._

_Chibiusa blinked, looking around. "What happened? Why are we back here? Where are-"_

_Suddenly, a realization came to her: _The Asteroids… it couldn't be…

_Instantly, she sat up. "NO! Sakura! Umi! Seiko! Rin!"_

"_Chibiusa! Don't overexert yourself!" Diana hopped onto the bed from her perch on the windowsill._

"_But they're… they're…"_

_Neo-Queen Serenity looked at the others in the room. The Senshi nodded and left, Luna and Artemis following them. Only Diana and King Endymion remained in the room with the mother and daughter._

"_Small Lady," the queen said tenderly, smoothing out her dress and taking a seat beside her daughter on the bed. "You know that what happened was meant to be? A fixed point?"_

"_I know, Mama… But I just found out that they were my Senshi! And now they're… they're __**gone!" **__She bit her lip, trying to stop the tears threatening to flow._

_Endymion spoke up. "Not gone, Small Lady, they're in the past. They'll be alright, back in a couple months… we knew it was going to happen eventually."_

"_But… But…"_

"_Chibiusa," Serenity said. "There's nothing to worry about. Do you know why?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you were there with them, you know! You know what happened. Little seven-year-old Chibiusa made sure they ended up right back here!" The queen struck a smile that was much more Usagi than Serenity._

"_How… how do you know that?" She sat up, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath._

"_Because I was there too, silly!" _

_Chibiusa cracked a smile._

"_Come on, Small Lady! Remember how Rei said you'd be with me for the afternoon? I'm going to teach you my tiara attack!"_

"_Really?" Chibiusa immediately jumped up. "Awesome!"_

_Just as the two were about to leave the room, the queen turned back to her husband. "You come too, Mamo-chan! It'll be like a family outing! And we never ate the picnic food, I'll get Mako-chan to bring us some sandwiches!"_

"_Usako, wait-"_

"_It'll be fun!"_

"Usa…"

"Usa!"

"Oh… oh, sorry!"

"Usa, you can't just stop in the street like that." Seiko sighed. "We need to get going if we want to get back soon."

"Yes…" She sighed. "I was just thinking about, you know, the last time we got… lost."

"Oh, _Usa." _Her voice softened. "You know nothing like that's ever going to happen again, right?"

"I know, but… I still get worried." She replied. "Seiko-chan, I don't want to lose you and everyone else again!"

"That's not going to happen, not if we have anything to say about it." Seiko smirked. "C'mon, let's catch up to the others."

The two ran up to the other four girls, who had stopped at a street corner to gather their bearings.

"So, this is Jade Street, right?" Losna squinted at the street sign in the distance.

"Yeah… that's right on the outskirts of town." Sakura explained. "One of the few places in town that you can't actually see the Palace from."

"Well, that's convenient for us…" Rin sighed.

"I have an idea!" The girls turned to Umi. "We can hitchhike!"

"Umi, we can't do that!"

"Why not?" The blue-haired girl blinked, beginning to sign at the cars passing by.

"We can't just leech off of others like- _Umi! Stop that!"_

Too late: a sky blue convertible was already stopping. The driver- a high school boy with blond hair and a mischievous smirk- rolled down his window, lifting up his sunglasses to reveal his dark eyes.

He looked at the girls, then blinked and scratched his head. "Do you ladies need a ride?"

Seiko walked up to him. "No, I'm s-"

"Yes," Sakura said dreamily, her eyes practically producing hearts at this point. Rin rolled her eyes, grabbing the girl's arm and walking away, ignoring Sakura's protests of "But he's hot!"

"Sorry to trouble you," Losna took over. "Some of them can be a little eccentric."

The boy simply raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, you don't know eccentric until you've been to my house."

…

"I just felt a raindrop on me!" Sakura yelled.

"It's just water," Losna replied. "You won't melt."

"But it'll mess up my hair! Do you have any idea how long it takes to style this?"

The catgirl chose to ignore her, instead turning to Seiko, who was attempting to use the GPS on her phone. "Find anything?"

"Not really," the redhead sighed. "But I think if we just go towards the center of town and not get distracted we'll be fine."

"Ooh, look, a candy store!"

"Of course, Usa did not pick up on that last part." Seiko muttered.

"But there's chocolate in there, Seiko! And lollipops and taffy and gumdrops and maybe even pocky and-"

"Fine." She retorted. Usa smiled happily, running into the store while the rest of the girls followed.

"Look! We can get big candy bags for just 200 yen!" Sakura pointed to the cases of bulk candy lining the wall. Usa grinned widely, instantly running over and beginning to fill up a bag.

"Cheap… candy…" Losna's eyes widened.

"No, Losna-san, don't join their ranks!"

"Okay, do you have _any idea_ how rare it is to find good candy on Mau?" And with that, she joined the others at the candy buckets. Seiko groaned, flopping down on a counter. Rin stifled a laugh besides her.

"Do they even have money?" Seiko muttered.

"Of course they do," Rin replied. "They couldn't have bought ice cream otherwise. Besides, if we need to, I always carry around my wallet."

"You, out of all people, carrying around a wallet? Aren't you worried you'd get mugged?"

"In _Crystal Tokyo? _No chance. Besides," she smirked, "I'd annihilate anyone who tried to pull anything on me."

"I guess you would." Seiko giggled.

"And I've had to carry cash around with me for a while now. Because a _certain person _always wants me to get-"

Seiko's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare go there."

"I see you eying the _konpeito! _You're going to make me buy some again!"

"…Please, Rin-Rin?"

"Fine, just never call me that again."

"Seiko-chan! Rin-chan!" Usa ran up to them. "I got gummy bears and gummy worms and gummy frogs and gumdrops and-"

"Yes, yes, we know," Rin said as she grabbed a bag of _konpeito _off the shelf (much to Seiko's concealed joy.)

"Shall we get going, then?" Losna asked, taking a bite out of the licorice she had gotten. "It's getting pretty late, everyone must be wondering where you all are."

Sakura nodded as she paid for her candy. "I think I have a pretty good idea of where we are now!"

"Great." Seiko replied. "I'm exhausted, I literally just want to get back to the palace and fall asleep."

Usa's eyes widened. "Wait, are you guys staying with us?"

"Technically no, but we've always had the option of crashing at the palace if we needed." Rin explained. "Now that we're going to Azabu Pearl with you, we'll probably stay over a lot more."

"That's great!" Usa smiled. "We can have sleepovers and stuff! And we can stay up all night eating candy and watching movies and-"

"Not tonight, please." Seiko sighed.

"But-"

"Trust me; there's been way too much adventure already today."

…

"Look! There's the Crystal Palace!" Sakura pointed up: surely enough, the palace appeared in the distance, its crystalline figure almost shimmering in the sunlight.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" The group ran towards the building; however, Rin and Sakura (who were in the front of the group, with Seiko and Losna close behind and Usa several feet away) instantly stopped in their tracks.

"What the- _UMI?"_

"Oh, hey guys!" The blue-haired girl waved casually- she was sitting on the palace porch, Diana curled up beside her. "I was kinda wondering when you'd get back… you guys took a really long time!"

"How did you get here?" Seiko blinked. "Weren't you with us the whole time?"

Rin shrugged. "I thought we had just lost her in the candy shop… Where were you, Umi?"

"You didn't notice? I just got a ride back with that guy we met!"

Instantly, Sakura started seething with rage. "You got a ride back… with a hot guy… and we didn't even _notice?"_

"You could have come if you wanted." Umi replied. "His name's Hikaru! He's really nice!"

"You… know his name…"

"Yeah! Why, do you want to meet him? Maybe I can give you his phone number!"

"_You have his phone number?"_

"Of course! I like to keep touch with all my friends!"

"_F-f-f-f-f-f-f-friends…" _She stuttered out. "_Usa, catch me!"_

"No! Sakura-chan!" Usa rushed to the aid of her now mock-fainting friend.

"Whoa, she's really melodramatic…" Umi giggled. Suddenly, her eye caught on one of the bags that the girls were holding. "Wait a second… is that candy? Huh? Is it? Is it? _Is it?"_

"Yes, it's-"

Instantly, Umi clutched onto Seiko's arm, tears welling up into her eyes. "_You… got candy… without me?"_

"I'm sure you can have some," Seiko sighed, awkwardly patting the other girl on the head.

"Who's melodramatic now?" Rin whispered to Losna, who chuckled in response.

"Come on, everyone!" Diana leaped onto a pedestal, the bell on her collar ringing to alert her presence. "You all need to get inside, the Serenity Court has been waiting for you all to arrive!"

"The Court?" Usa blinked; she knew her parent's court met almost every day inside the palace, but she rarely was told to meet with them.

"Yes, yes, there's a very important announcement!"

_Important announcement… I guess it makes sense with everything that's been happening, _Usa thought to herself as they walked through the palace to get to the courtroom. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the many familiar faces of the court: Queen Ami, Queen Rei, Queen Makoto, and Queen Minako, who were all in their Senshi forms; King Ryo of Mercury, King Motoki of Jupiter, and King Adonis of Venus; Luna and Artemis, who were quickly joined by her daughter; several elected officials that aided with decisions mostly of the political rather than Senshi variety; and, of course, King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity. The five girls all curtsied respectfully before taking up several open seats facing Serenity. Losna looked around, confused and slightly uncomfortable, before Diana made a motion to her. With relief, she switched forms and sat down besides the other cats.

Serenity stood up on a platform, overlooking the other girls with a smile as she began to speak. "Girls… first, I would just like to say how proud we all are of you. As Sailor Soldiers, you have grown and matured so much…You have faced hardships and fought threats that are more than unimaginable. All five of you have shown great courage, determination, aptitude, and willpower."

Her speech suddenly broke as she flipped an index card; however, she quickly kept going. "Though not all of you are directly related, you still each possess the spirits of the Senshi before you. Which is why there comes a time… where these spirits must reawaken." After flipping another card and looking at the confused faces of the teenagers before her, especially her daughter, she let out a slight laugh. "What I mean to say is that… the Asteroid Senshi must now take on the powers of the four guardian planets."

"And Small Lady… it is time for you to become the full-fledged Sailor Moon."

The girls silently exchanged glances of surprise, excitement, and nervousness- but finally, one of them spoke up.

"But… why, Serenity-sama?" Seiko asked. "Aren't our powers good enough as they are?"

"Perhaps they are… but…" Serenity's eyes suddenly clouded over. "I fear that we may be approaching a time of great danger. For not only Crystal Tokyo, but the… the whole universe." She looked down worriedly; quickly, King Endymion clasped her hand from where he was standing behind her.

With a shaky, yet grateful smile, Serenity continued. "After the Black Moon invasion, I have held a pronounced fear of a possible new enemy. The Silver Crystal is as strong as ever, perhaps even more so… but my reign over it is ending at a surprisingly fast rate. Soon, it must find a new heir, or else my usage of it could have disastrous consequences. That new heir is to be you, Small Lady."

_Me? Have Mama's Silver Crystal? _The thought was almost unimaginable to Usa.

"We have known this for a long time, even before you all had become Senshi… but now, the matter has become urgent. Because we are picking up on a new foe… much stronger than the Black Moon Clan, we believe. I and the current Guardian Senshi may not be able to fend them off for long; as such, you are the only hope."

_Us... the only hope… _Usa stared down at her feet.

"Don't look that way, you all!" The queen managed to crack a smile. "We have complete faith that the increased strength of your powers will be able to defeat them in no time. And we will be aiding you in every way we possible can… we'll be beside you every step of the way."

"Do you all accept?"

Usa quickly weighed the choice in her mind, thinking to herself: _It's terrifying… but it's my duty as a Senshi. _

Before long, she spoke up. "I do, Mama." One by one, the Asteroids all nodded in agreement.

The Inner Senshi all looked each other, closing their eyes in concentration before slowly reaching their arms out. Various lights began to appear from their palms, before blending together in the center of the room and giving the entire area a bright, warm, white glow. Usa closed her eyes, feeling a sudden surge of power go through her. Once the light faded, a crescent moon appeared on her forehead, before quickly fading again.

Rin shrugged, sticking her hands back in her pockets. "So, now we just automatically have new powers?"

"Not exactly," Serenity says. "It'll be like how your powers as the Sailor Quartet were- they had to awaken. But it's likely that they'll activate in a moment of danger very soon."

"Likely… but not certain." Queen Ami sighed. "If within a month they don't awaken, we'll intervene."

"Hey! I'm pretty sure it'll work! This time!" She protested.

Luna muttered to herself: "She's the queen of the solar system… but she's still _baka_ Usagi sometimes." With a sigh, she looked at Usa and the other girls. "You can leave whenever you wish. That goes for you too, Diana."

"Thanks, Mama!" The cat leapt down from her perch and walked down to the rest of the girls. Losna was about to follow, but Artemis quickly stuck out a paw to stop her.

"Don't worry, we'll explain everything to you." He whispered. The lavender cat had a wary look on her face, but Usa gave her a reassuring smile as she left the room.

"So… new powers." Seiko broke the silence.

"That means we get new attacks and costumes and everything! I'm so excited!" Umi blurted out.

"But all that talk about a new enemy, too…" Sakura sighed. "I wonder if it had anything to do with that monster we fought."

"You fought a monster?" Diana asked.

"Oh, yeah…" Seiko began to tell the story of their adventures out today. While the other girls were distracted listening to her rendition, Usa turned the corner absentmindedly… and came face to face with a very familiar door.

"Huh? How'd I end up here?" Usa wondered. It seemed that every time she ended up there, she didn't know it until it was right in front of her. There was never any set path to its location- she had once been told that she would only find it when she needed it. Fitting, it was, for a door of space and time to appear so sparingly.

Usa tried to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn't move. She tried pushing on the door, but to no avail. With a sigh of defeat, the young princess leaned on the door.

She knew she shouldn't have even tried to open it.

It was no use.

It hadn't opened in eight years, after all.

She didn't understand why she kept trying. It was locked since the Black Moon incident, but she still tried everything she could. It never worked. She had no idea why she could still use her time key; the Setsuna Meioh of the past refused to answer any of her questions. She had tried asking everyone she could; it was always the same answer.

"_We don't know why it's locked. We have no idea the whereabouts of Sailor Pluto anymore. And we haven't seen the other Outer Senshi since Crystal Tokyo formed."_

"Puu, why won't you talk to me?" She whispered. "Why can't I open the door? Why can't I see you?"

She closed her eyes, her grip on the doorknob tightening in frustration and unhappiness. "Where are you? And where's Haruka-san and Michiru-san and-"

_Hotaru._

She loved her friends here in Crystal Tokyo. But Hotaru… the two just understood each other so well. They could talk about _anything. _They had been through so much together… and sometimes, Usa just missed her _so much._

"Wherever you are, I hope you're happy. I hope you're all together… that would probably mean you'd be happy, right?" She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears threatening to flow. "I hope you… I hope you didn't forget about me."

"Puu, I'm just so scared! All this talk about a new danger… and the Silver Crystal belonging to me! I can't use the Silver Crystal yet! Only a lady like Mama can… I'm not a lady! I'm just… I'm still _chibi! _I'm not ready for this!"

_**Says the girl who used the Silver Crystal when she was six.**_

"W-what?" She looked around, knowing she heard a voice but seeing no face to put it to. "Who are you?"

_**I'm no foe, Lady Serenity, if that's what you're asking.**_

"Don't call me Lady… I'm not a lady."

_**Well, you don't look like a man to me.**_

"What?" She shouted. "That's not what I mean!"

_**Then what did you mean?**_

"I meant that… that I'm not a lady like Mama."

_**She wasn't always like that herself, remember? She used to be… just like you. You should know, you met her.**_

"I… guess that's right." She straightened up, listening attentively.

_**You've done so much more than you give yourself credit for. The Black Moon Clan, the Death Busters, the Dead Moon, Galaxia… none of them would have fallen without your aid.**_

"Really?"

_**Trust me, I'd know. Don't underestimate yourself, Lady Serenity- and more than that; don't underestimate your allies, in both strength and number.**_

"I never have," she managed to smile.

_**And as for the Outers… do not worry. They're together. They're safe. And most definitely happy. Not only that… but your paths will cross again very soon.**_

"No way… How do you know that?"

_**I just do.**_

"And I should trust that?"

_**Good point, you really shouldn't. Never trust a mysterious faceless voice, Lady Serenity. Or, while I'm at it, that guy with the white van offering you candy.**_

To her surprise, Usa started laughing.

_**Now I'll be taking my leave then. I thought I'd announce that to you, because otherwise you wouldn't have any idea I was.**_

"Why not?"

_**Because I'm the mysterious faceless voice you shouldn't trust, Lady Serenity!**_

"You know, you're only the second person to call me that… Only Helios ever has." She blushed a bit.

_**Oh, that dude? Guess he was right to…**_

"Wait a second… do you _know-"_

"Usa!"

"Huh?" The girl in question looked up to see Sakura standing before her. "Oh, hey, Sakura-chan, sorry about that…"

"Geez, Usa, what was with all that talking to yourself?" Usa was about to protest, but Sakura continued. "Whatever, let's just get you back with everyone else. We're all in the meeting room finishing up homework."

Usa nodded, letting Sakura lead her up two flights of stairs into the Serenity Capsule. Due to its high-up location, none of the palace residents were allowed to have rooms up there- however, they were willing to make an exception for the girls' hangout. They had set up in a loft overlooking all of Crystal Tokyo, with a door to an outside deck nearly inaccessible from the amount of plants Sakura had growing. The room's walls were lined with bunk beds and a high-quality entertainment system; the area also boasted a mini fridge, a popcorn machine, and a minibar that was checked nearly every day by Luna for any "suspicious beverages." This was where Usa tended to bring friends, do homework, and simply have fun; now that the other girls were there, it was due to become a hot spot of action.

"Usa-chan!" Umi waved but refused to take an eye off the video game she was playing. "I found an old Wii at a garage sale, come play Smash Brothers with me!"

"Whoa, really? That's so cool! Those are so old, you can't find one anywhere!" Usa quickly ran towards the television… but was quickly stopped by a certain grey cat leaping onto her.

"Homework first!"

"Just one game, Diana?"

"Homework. First."

Usa sighed, sitting down on a couch. Her book bag had inexplicably migrated to her; she opened it up and got out her work. Immediately, she sighed, not understanding a single word on the page.

"Need help?" She looked up to see Rin giving her a sympathetic grin. Usa nodded quickly.

"What class is it for?"

"Science," Usa groaned.

"Here, hand it over, I'll take a look at it." Usa obliged, eager to get the paper out of her hands. Rin squinted at it, then nodded. "Chemical reaction formulas! I know this! So, Usa, this here is the chemical formula for- you're not listening?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I was… I totally wasn't daydreaming about cake…"

"Do you want my help or not?" Rin grumbled.

"Well, it's not like I'm ever going to need this… and you know it all, so…"

"I'm not going to do it for you!"

"But-"

"Thousand yen and it's off your hands."

"Rin! Stop being a bad influence!" Seiko groaned, looking up from her algebra.

"Come on, I'm just teaching Usa the school of real life!"

The girls giggled. As Rin showed her another problem, Usa looked out at the other girls- Rin and Seiko at the table with her, Umi and Sakura sprawled out on the couch playing video games, Diana curled up asleep besides her.

_I guess I shouldn't underestimate them, should I?_

Meanwhile, a strange dark sphere appeared in the northernmost point of town. It began to grow larger and larger, until suddenly a dilapidated white cathedral took its place. The stain-glassed windows were cracked and no light shone through them; no matter how hard someone pulled, the door would not budge.

Inside the church, a man dressed in red appeared. He ran his fingers through his blue hair nervously. "Queen Fantasma, you called?"

"Yes, Adelite," a voice sounded from father inside the building. It was a black-haired woman with icy blue eyes, dressed in an ornate violet dress and sitting on a throne. "Have you begun our plans?"

"Yes, my Queen," he bowed. "I administered the first test today, in fact."

"And yet you get me no energy?"

"It's a matter of simple mathematics, Queen. If we send out a Seirei, the Sailor Senshi are capable of defeating it due to their heightened strength and the Seirei's limited power."

"Sailor Senshi… If they're causing so many problems, why don't you just eliminate them?"

"Queen, it's not that simple, the Sailor Senshi transformed have power beyond what we can achieve… and when they aren't transformed the majority of them are royalty protected by not only armies, but more Sailor Senshi."

"When I give you an order, you complete it!" She yowled. "Kill those Sailor Senshi! And get me that energy!"

"Simple mathematics, Queen…" He disappeared.

"Sailor Senshi…" she muttered. "They must pay for the wrongs they did to me…"


End file.
